Here's my problem...

Here's my problem...

Ok, we bought our house in May and lo and behold, our stove does not work. It's expensive to get a new one and since then, I've been stuck using a crock pot ***shudder*** or an electric skillet, and toasting in a toaster over that our neighbor gave me...

Does anyone have any skillet or crock pot recipes that actually taste like food??? I would KILL for even a nasty casserole, but with no over, I'm stuck. Thanks in advance! We're getting sick of this crock pot mash we always seem to eat. YUCK!

Mix a can of cream of mushroom soup with a package of Lipton onion soup mix with a little worchestershire and spread it on top of a roast and cook all day in the crock pot. It makes a deliciously tender roast and a wonderful gravy. You can thicken up the gravy if desired by stirring in some flour water and cooking a while.

Another idea is to cook chicken breasts with taco seasonings and then shred the chicken and make soft chicken tacos with your favorite toppings such as tomatoes, lettuce, pico, avacado, and sour cream.

Mix a can of cream of mushroom soup with a package of Lipton onion soup mix with a little worchestershire and spread it on top of a roast and cook all day in the crock pot. It makes a deliciously tender roast and a wonderful gravy. You can thicken up the gravy if desired by stirring in some flour water and cooking a while.

You can stop off at a Chinese place and pick up a carton of cooked rice. Then you can use your skillet to make Arroz con Pollo, Fried rice or Jambalaya.

Chilis and stews are great in crock pots if you brown the meat in the skillet first. Many crock pot recipes are bad because the meat isn't browned first. You can use the SEARCH function in the upper right side of the screen for chili, stew, jambalaya, etc; we've posted most of these recipes previously. Here's one of my mom's crock pot favorites (don't let the orange juice deter you. It's inperceptable and adds depth and balance):

In the crock pot, place stew meat and dust with flour, mustard, salt, and pepper. Stir to coat. Add onion, mushrooms. Stir to combine. Add beef broth and wine. Stir again. Cover and set high for four hours. (low for 6 hours) Add egg noodles. Cover and cook on high for addtional hour. Stir in sour cream and serve. Great with a fresh salad.

Thinking here of all the ways I've used my electric skillets over the years. Very handy to do stir frying in,fried chicken, chicken fried steaks, fried fish, french fries etc. Also have done pot roasts, pork roasts, hamburgers, hot dogs, steaks , meat and noodles, potatoes etc in skillets. I even.....(imagine this) have a delectable peanut butter fudge recipe that can only be done with true authenticity in an electric skillet.

Wow, thank you all so much for your ideas and recipes! I have truly been inspired to keep on keepin' on and not grumble about not having an oven. I've been in a rut lately so I needed this kick in the pants. ;) Thanks so much and that peanut butter fudge recipe will be working overtime this weekend! LOL! It sounds WONDERFUL and now I just HAVE to have some! YUM is right!

Sheepish, not about recipes but: In my area Sears has a "scratch and dent" warehouse where they sell appliances at a great discount. For instance I bought a washer for half-price due to some minor scratches on the front (which I didn't see for about a year).So you might ask if they have such a place in your area when the time comes.

Well, luckily, we now have enough to buy a stove AND a dishwasher! IMAGINE THAT! LOL So, thank you for all of your recipes and advice! I'm saving them all just in case I ever actually want to make a crock pot meal again! I may be 50 when it happens though... LOL

My stove WORKS, but I love my electric skillet and use it almost every day. Besides frying, it's great for braised dishes. Here's a favorite of mine:

PORK CHOPS SMOTHERED IN RED WINE GRAVY

Put some flour (1/2 cup or so) in a plastic bag with some salt and pepper (this is one of those some o' this, some o' that recipes, so read no further if you need more precision.) Coat some (4, say) nice thick pork chops thinly in mustard (use Dijon if you must, but yellow hot dog mustard works just fine) and dredge them in the flour mixture. Brown them in a skillet in a little butter and vegetable oil. Take out the pork chops and saute some thinly sliced onion(a good sized one)in the same skillet until nice and soft and brown at the edges. Put the pork chops back in on top of the onions, and pour in red wine to just barely come up to the tops of the chops. Sprinkle in a bit of dried thyme, or throw in a branch of the fresh stuff. Braise the chops over low heat for at least an hour (or two), until they are falling off the bone; and don't taste-them until they've braised awhile -- they don't taste as good at first, but as they mellow - wow. You can use a bit more of the dredging flour to thicken the gravy if you want it so (mix it with a little cold water or some more wine first). Serve with mashed potatoes.